Workman survives 4m shaft fall that lands contractor in court

A Liverpool construction company has been ordered to pay £20k after a 22-year-old concrete layer employed by a subcontractor fell 4m down a shaft. The shaft opening was covered with boarding of inadequate strength that collapsed beneath the workman.

The HSE investigating inspector said the company “failed to manage the site properly, sent an unsupervised apprentice to carry out work to protect the voids and exposed many workers to risks from falling through a lift shaft opening which was inadequately protected. The boarding that had been put in place was more dangerous than the opening itself, because it provided a false sense of security to those who worked nearby.”

Comment: This incident shows the importance of attention to detail in securing a safe place of work. Covering an opening through which persons could fall is not a task to be undertaken lightly. Such protection can be difference between life and death and it must therefore be properly designed, installed and checked. Measure twice cut once!